Sign language and Temper Tantrums

For those you know me you know I love sign language. I'm not fluent but could hold a basic conversation in sign. Before Landon was born, I decided to teach him basic sign starting from a young age. When he started crawling and getting into things, I taught him the word no and what it means. It took a couple of weeks before he finally understood what it meant. Now when I don't want him to do something, I just do the sign for no and he stops doing it. Landon can't do the sign for no yet but he shakes his head and that is his sign for no.

I work part-time from home and sometimes when I'm working Landon will pull himself up to my chair and start tugging on my clothes because he wants to sit on my lap. This can make work a little tricky. This morning I decided I would teach him the sign for "sit-down". In the past it has taken a week or two before Landon understood what a sign meant. He took him about 5 mins to figure out what I was signing to him. I would do the sign and force him to sit so he understood what the sign meant. After doing this a few times, he started sitting down when I did the sign.

Well, about half way through work he came up to my chair and start tugging on my shirt. So I did the sit down sign and he started shaking his head no. I did the sign again and he shook his head no again. This went on for about 5 mins. He decided that shaking his no wasn't enough, so he started screaming at me. I continued to tell him "No, sit down Landon." He then started to bang the chair with his hands and kicking the floor with his feet. I couldn't believe my not even one year old was throwing a temper tantrum. I let him go on about 10 mins before I picked him up, calmed him down, and put him down for a nap.

After his nap, I played with him for a few mins and then started work again. He came over to my chair and started tugging on my shirt again, I told him to sit down, he shook his no, and he started throwing another tempter tantrum (2 in one day, really). But this only lasted for about 2 mins before he sat down and played with his toys. I hoping he got the message that when I tell him to do something he needs to do it. Guess I will find out when I work again on Monday.

As Landon was throwing the fit, I thought back to my teenage years and  thought of all the temper tantrums that I threw to get what I wanted and my mom's voice came into my head and she was laughing and saying, "Payback Time."

                                                        Good Thing I Love this Little Punk

Landon's Hospital Stay

A few weeks ago, Landon started throwing up and I thought it was just a cold (We were in Oklahoma when it actually started and I still need to post about that trip). But it got worse the day we got home. He also had gone almost 48 hours without peeing. Two days after we got home, I took Landon to his doctor. He had his weight checked and he had lost a pound in just a couple of weeks. The dr gave Landon some medicine that was supposed to prevent throwing up. She told us if he started throwing up again to take him to the hospital. Landon went the rest of that day without throwing up but started again about 6 the next morning. So we went to the hospital. This is how the day went. 

Friday, August 24. 

6 am - Landon starts throwing up 

6:30-7:00 am - We take him to the hospital 

9:00-10: am - Landon is stuck with needles and has about 7 small tubes of blood taken. This took about 45 mins to do and he screamed the whole time. Just a side note Landon has learned that waving means "bye-bye." Well the whole time he was getting the blood drawn he kept waving his hand. He was trying to tell us that he wanted to leave. It's so hard watching your baby go through that.

10:am-3:30 pm - We hang out in Landon's room and he can't eat b/c he is getting test done in the afternoon. 

3:30 pm - Landon gets to ride in a wheelchair on Kyle's lap to his test. He loved that and laughed the whole time. He got a Ultrasound, X-Ray, and Upper GI done. He screamed and cried the whole time through these. Kyle and I had to hold him down and he kept looking at us with those big blue eyes and you could tell he was very angry with us. 

5:00 pm - Landon finally gets to eat about after 8 hours of not eating. He throws up it. 

6:00 pm - Hospital Doctor finally comes to give us the test results. This is pretty much of a summary of what he said "All test results come back normal. We don't know what's wrong." This is frustrating and somewhat relieving b/c I'm glad nothing was wrong but we still didn't know what was wrong. 

7:00 pm - A Pediatric Gastroenterologist came to speak to us and he was very helpful. He put Landon on some medicines to prevent him from throwing up. He also put him a very specialized formula that cosst a fortune and told us to put him on a diary and soy free diet b/c he may be allergic. 

8:00 pm to Saturday afternoon - Landon didn't throw up at all and was peeing again. So the doctor sent him home. We were told if he started throwing up again to bring him back. 

Here are some pics 

 

             I wish I had taken a better shot of his hospital gown but they were so cute

Kyle trying to distract him from his hunger

Landon on his wheelchair ride. The best one I could get.

Landon is doing much better today. He takes medicine six times a day and is eating his formula pretty well. It's hard to find food that doesn't have soy or diary in it. We are mostly feeding him organic food. The plan is to introduce soy and diary back into his diet slowly and if he gets sick then we know he is allergic. We go to the gastroenterologist  tomorrow so will see what happens from there. 

A Day at the Beach

My sister-n-law told me about a fake beach close to their home. So one night we decided to take Landon and he had a blast. The water was pretty cold so he couldn't stay in the water too long but he loved the sand. 

 

I believe in Miracles

Yesterday, I received a phone call from my mom saying there were several wildfires in Oklahoma. The fires were a few miles from the town in which I grew up in, Mannford. Some of my friend's home had been lost. My parents were fine and were still in at their house. A few hours later, my mom called me again and told me she was being evacuated. In fact, the whole town was under mandatory evacuation. The whole town was blocked off so no one get in.

My dad and brother own an auto shop. They stayed behind to help people with their cars and help firefighters with their trucks and provide necessary supplies. I received another phone call about 9:00 last night and the fire was about 100 feet behind my parent's business. It was burning the business right behind them. (The auto shop is the very beginning of town, once the fire got it, it would get the whole town). I received another phone call about 10:00. The fire didn't get my parents business. It took a turn in the other direction and the firefighters had gotten it under control. My parents house and business were okay. The town was going to be fine.

Though a lot of houses and building were burnt down and over 50,000 acres were burnt no lives were lost. I am so very thankful for the safety of my family and friends.

Yesterday on facebook ,everybody kept asking to please pray for my family, please pray for our house, please pray for Oklahoma. I did pray, I recruited Kyle's family to pray, and it worked.

I believe in the power of prayer. I believe in the strength of numbers when it comes to prayer. I know the Lord was watching over my family and friends. I am so thankful for the Gospel in my life and the comfort it brings me.

I will be going home in about a week. I will post pics of the fire damage

My parent's business is the one on the left with the two cars. 

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Allergies

After a few tests and doctors, we have learned Landon has a peanut and egg-white allergy. His peanut allergy is severe. He can't be around peanuts and anything that contains peanuts. So it's goodbye to peanut butter sandwiches, candy with peanuts, candy that was manufactured in a factory where candy with peanuts are made, and bye-bye to one of our favorite restaurants - Texas Roadhouse. 

His egg-white allergy is mild. He can be around eggs. We just have to wash our hands really well after handling eggs. He can't eat anything with eggs in it. So I'm on the search for eggless cake and brownie recipes. 

Though it has been to hard adjusting to reading every label at the grocery store and giving up our favorite sandwich, it has been so worth it. Landon's eczema is almost cleared up and he is such a happier baby. I am so grateful for doctors and modern medicine. 

                                                                        Having the test done

The new happy baby

BBQ Sauce

Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been extremely busy around here lately. My work is really busy and behind and I've been putting in a lot of extra hours. Kyle is very busy with school and work. I just wanted to post a video. Last week, I left my dinner plate a lot to close to Landon and he got BBQ sauce on himself. I think he enjoyed the taste. 

6 Months - Where has the time gone?!!

My little baby turned 6 months old a couple of weeks ago. Why does my baby have to grow up so fast?!

At 6 months, Landon is 26.5 inches long (49%) and weighs 13.87 pds (2%). He still wears 0-3 months clothes and some of those are a little big. He may be tiny but he has a BIG personality. 

Here are some new developments:

• He can crawl backwards - I'm little confused on why he chose to crawl backwards first. 
• He can make baba sounds and it's the cutest thing ever.
• He is becoming a daddy's boy. If Kyle is around, he is the one Landon wants. 
• He has learned to grab. He reaches for anything and everything. It makes life a bit more interesting now. 

Landon's favorite things: 

• Eating - this boy will eat anything will give him
• Throwing things on the floor so mommy can pick them 
• Drinking water - He laughs so much when we give him a cup to drink out of
• Crumbling up paper
• Laughing and Smiling
• Medicine - He is on medicine for acid reflux and loves when we give it to him. I guess it tastes good
• Being bounced on our bed
• Being put in a pile of laundry so he can play with all the clothes

• 
  

Grandma Hazel

My mom came to visit a couple of weeks ago and while she was here we made a trip to Vernal to my grandma's house. Actually, it's my great grandma and Landon's great great grandma. How awesome is it to have your great great grandma alive?!

My mom is from Vernal and I'm related to several people in that town. My grandma's (my great grandma's daughter and my mom's mom)  brothers and sisters live there. We always have a good time when we go there. I hear several stories of when my grandma and mom were little kids.

Here is a picture of my Mom, Landon, me, and my great Grandma. 

My Little Bundle of Joy

Motherhood Oops

Have you ever had an "Oops" Moment as a parent? Have you ever thought to yourself, "Oops maybe I shouldn't have done that" or "Oops, I can't believe that happened"? Well, I have had  a lot of them and thought I would share some.

My "Oops" Moments

• One night, when Landon was 6 or 7 weeks old, I was giving him an early morning feeding and as usual he didn't finish his bottle. So I went to put the leftover milk in the fridge. As I was putting the bottle on the top shelf, I realized it wasn't the bottle I was putting in, it was, in fact, Landon's leg that I was setting on the top shelf. Yes, I was about to put my son in the fridge. Oops. 
• Sometimes I call Landon, Colin, which is the name of my nephew. He lives over 1000 miles away so I'm not for sure why I get them mixed up. 
• This next one has happened more than once. After Landon eats during the night, I change his diaper. A few times I have crawled back into to bed and realize I never put a diaper back on Landon. I had taken the wet diaper off, button up his pajamas, and placed him back in his crib. I just never put a new diaper on. Luckily, I always remember to go back and do it. Otherwise, he would have a very wet bed in the morning. 
• This is my most embarrassing moment as a parent. Last week I was feeding Landon and while he was eating he dirtied his diaper. No big deal, I changed it as usual and went about my day. Later, when I was at the store, I looked down and there was poop all over my pants. I guess it had linked out while I was feeding him. Needless to say, I check my pants after every diaper change  now. 

Update on Life

I would be posting pics from Easter but I haven't figured out how to put pics from my camera onto my new computer. So no pics this post. I thought I would post an update.

Kyle is working hard at school. He has about 2 weeks left of this semester and then only 2 semesters left of his undergrad! We are hoping for a December graduation and Grad school would begin in the fall of 2013. He works so hard at school. I am so very proud of him. A few weeks he presented research he has been working on for several weeks at a National Conference. It went really well and several people were interested in it.

Kyle is currently looking for a new job, he's not a fan of the one he has. I'm sure he will find one that he likes and things will work out.

Landon well Landon is busy all the time. He is constantly trying to crawl (I hope he gets it soon).He loves his own voice - he tries to sing and talk most of the day. Last Sunday in Church, the Choir sung and Landon tried to copy the women's high pitched voices. We got a lot of laughs from people that day.

Landon started solid foods a few weeks ago and he is already a picky eater. He loves sweet potatoes, carrots, and his favorite is squash. He hates rice cereal, peas, and green beans.

It's so fun watching Landon grow and discover new things everyday.

As for me, I love being a stay at home/working part time from home mom. I love the fact that I can do a job I love from home but that I can still be with Landon all day. Work has been slow lately so I haven' t been able to work as many hours as I want but it's starting to pick up again.

My mom comes in 2 weeks and we are going to the BYUs Women Conference. I am pretty excited for it.

As for our diet, Kyle and I slacked off for a couple of months but we are back on it and ready to go.

Random Pics

Landon loves to snuggle with Mickey

His first picnic. He's not a fan of the sun

He loves to grab onto his blanket and then roll over.
He usually ends up in a tangled mess. 

Thinking Hard

Landon spends the majority of his day in this position.

He's trying to crawl. 

The little dude on the right is my nephew Caleb. 

He is 2 months younger than Landon

First time eating sweet potatoes. 

Landon at 4 Months

Stats
 -weighs 11.81 pds, 3% for his age
 -measures 24 inches, 37% for his age

Fun Stuff
-Can roll from back to tummy and vice versa
-Attempts crawling but no success yet
-Loves to hear his own voice
-Laughs and smiles ALOT
-Loves his new swing
-Has learned to entertain himself in his crib - this means mom gets to sleep longer!
-Likes to grab onto mommy's hair
-Favorite thing to suck on is his hands - both at the same time
-Looks more and more like the Tiner family everyday
-Hair is starting to grow back in - he lost a lot b/c of the eczema
-Loves to pound his legs and feet on the ground
-Likes to cuddle with Mickey Mouse

Update on Eczema
 - After a few weeks of vinegar soaks and rubbing tons of cream on him, his eczema is finally cleared up. But it will come and go until he's a teenager. Right now I still have to bathe him in bleach and rub tons of vaseline on him but no more vinegar soaks!

Landon's thoughts on bleach baths

Landon hates baths. He has since he was born. You add bleach and a time period of 10 mins and he really hates them. He always fights me when I try to put him in the water.  He tries to wiggle himself out of my arms and he won't bend his legs so I can sit him in the sink. During most baths, his face expression is one of betrayal and acts like hes mad at me.

Well yesterday morning, Kyle and I were giving him a bath and he was fighting us as usual. In the middle of the bath, Landon started laughing this very mischievous laugh (one I've never heard before) and about 2 seconds later he started peeing everywhere. He laughed the whole time he was peeing and had this very satisfied smile on his face afterward. I think he was trying to tell us something.

                                                     Love my little man!

                                                                         

Bleach Baths and Vinegar Soaks

For the past month and half, Landon has had a rash on his face, head, and stomach. Our pediatrician told us it was cradle cap. We tried cream after cream after cream  and some creams made it better and others did not.  On Friday when Landon woke up, his face looked horrible. It looked like his skin was being eaten away it. I called the dr and told her that she needed to see Landon ASAP (Before this, I would call once or twice a week and she would just keep prescribing medicine). So I took Landon in later that day. Dr walked in and the first thing she said is, "You need to take him to the ER immediately." So Landon and I headed to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. I arrived at 5:30 and Kyle got there about 6:30.

We were checked in very quickly. The first dr we saw told me Landon had a staff infection and would need to stay in the hospital for a few days but other drs would need to see him. Then a group of 3 drs came  (1 was a resident DR, 1 was  a nurse practioner, and the other was an actual dr.) and  told me Landon had an infection (well, duh, I could see that). These drs wanted Landon to see a dermatologist. A resident dermatologist came in and I loved her. She was so nice, caring, and actually gave me real answers. She called in a Pediatric Dermatologist and she was also wonderful. Together they diagnosed Landon with severe infected eczema. They gave me a regime to follow and it has worked wonders.  So Landon, Kyle, and I were in the ER for 7 hours and saw a total of 7 drs - a dr from another floor came to make sure Landon was being taken care of.

Every morning and night, Landon gets a 10 min vinegar soak, 2 creams rubbed on, and a whole lot of vaseline. Poor guy just cries and cries through it. Then twice a week he gets a 10 min bath in bleach. Who knew you could bath babies in bleach? Anyway Landons face and body look so much better.
 
                                                      Here's Landon during his vinegar soak

 

Oklahoma

At the beginning of February, Landon and I took a week long trip to Oklahoma. It was Landon's first time on the plane and he did so well. He slept the whole way on all 4 flights. As usual, we did lots of shopping and eating out. Landon also got to spend a lot of time with his grandma, grandpa,  Matthew, Jessica

and cousin Colin. 

Landon with Grandma Ann and Cousin Colin. Mom got them suits for Church. 

Landon with his Grandpa Mike. 

Landon with his adopted Great Grandmother, Shirley 

Landon with my mom's good friend, Linda. 

I was told many times that Landon looks like his Uncle Matthew and Cousin Colin.

What do you think?

I found some baby sunglasses for Landon.Doesn't he look cute

Cousin Colin in his bumbo chair..even though he is a little to big for it. 

        Colin loves to dip anything in ketchup.So here he is dipping grapes in to ketchup

He loved the cars. 

                                                      Landon and I missed Kyle alot!

Monday Report

Sorry if these posts about my diet are boring to read but it helps me to stay on track when I have something  besides Kyle to report to.

This last week I lost 3 pounds bringing my total weight loss to 9 pounds! That brings my weight to 153. I have between 23-28 pounds to go.

On Saturday, I went jean shopping and  went down a pant size. So nice to see my diet is paying off. 

Landon's Big smile

Isn't he so cute?!

Monday Report

I didn't do so good on my diet last week. I only lost a pound. Maybe I shouldn't have had those 3 pieces of Papa Johns Pizza or that chocolate chip cookie. I promise myself I will do better this week.

On side a note, I started to diet a few months before I became pregnant with Landon. When I started to diet, I weighed 180. I lost 15 pounds, gained it back during my pregnancy, and lost it all within a week of having Landon. So in total I have lost 24 pounds - not to shabby.

* I promise I will post something else besides my diet this week.

Diet

Just a warning, this post is about my diet so it may be boring to read.

Since we've been married, Kyle and I have gained some weight. For our New Years Resolution, we decided to go on a diet and lose some much needed weight. We've pretty much cut out all diary and sugar from our diet. We eat lots of veggies and fruits and exercise.

The reason I'm blogging about this is so I have someone to report to. I plan on doing a Monday Report every week to report how I'm doing (Yes, I know it's Tuesday, I got a late start). Last Monday, January 2nd, I weighed in at 162 pounds. Yesterday, I weighed in at 157 pounds. 5 Pounds! Go me!

My goal weight is 125. Wish me luck!